OS Golf: Grafton Morrish 2021

Hunstanton

Sedbergh School Grafton Morrish 2021

The Grafton Morrish is an annual golf tournament contested by public schools from all over the UK. The format is
scratch foursomes with each team fielding 3 pairs of former school members. Sedbergh have tasted success in the
past, winning the title on a number of occasions, however sadly not for a good few years. More recently however
there have been signs of a revival in both form and fortunes with appearances in the final of the plate and the
quarterfinals of the main competition. I have been lucky enough to play in this great tournament for around 20 years,
the combination of its quality golf courses, strong competition & fantastic team spirit means it remains one of the
highlights of my golfing year.

Qualifying Report 2021

2019 English Mens County Finals, Huddersfield Golf Club.

In a year inevitably affected by Covid, Sedbergh produced an excellent performance at the (delayed) Northern
regional qualifying tournament at Huddersfield GC, to progress comfortably to this year’s finals, winning the event by
10 points from our nearest competitor Bolton. Incidentally, Sedbergh’s total score of 94 points would have won all
but one of the 2021 regional qualifying events.

A great performance from all 3 Sedbergh pairs, with the team also dominating the individual pairs standings – Will
Jeffries
(S 95-99) and Alastair Smith (H 77-82) finishing 3rd and most notably Archie Davies (P 14-19) and Henry Flather (H 99-04) finishing 1st overall with an excellent score of 35 points.

Sedbergh qualifying scores (Total 94):
Archie Davies (P 14-19) and Henry Flather (H 99-04) – 35 points
Will Jeffries (S 95-99) and Alastair Smith (H 77-82) – 31 points
Charles Webb (E 75-80) and David Row (E 74-79) – 28 points

This was Archie’s first appearance in the Grafton Morrish, it was fantastic that he was back from university in the US
and available to play. Archie has a handicap of approx +5 and it was a real pleasure to observe golf at this elite level.
Archie was clearly in good form, as he had narrowly missed out on qualification for the British Open earlier in the
month and subsequently made the cut in the Welsh Open on the European Tour, both fantastic achievements as an
amateur.


Finals Report 2021

Finals

There were 5 changes to the Sedbergh team that triumphed at Huddersfield earlier in the year, including a new face
with a now familiar surname. This was Molly Davies’ (R 13-18) first Grafton Morrish and hopefully there will be many more in the future. An accomplished county golfer, Molly formed a very successful partnership in the first pair with Callum Austin (E 06-10), with the pair remaining unbeaten during the competition. A very impressive performance from both, well done!

Match vs Kings Bruton (last 32):
Despite being on the receiving end of a challenging draw for the finals, confidence was high before Sedbergh’s first
match. The reward for winning the regional qualifying tournament was a bye into the second round to face an
impressive Kings Bruton team at Hunstanton G.C. (who had also won their regional qualifying).

It was a classic autumnal day on the links of north Norfolk – sun and rain showers in equal measure, the only constant
being the 20-30 mph winds, testing all parts of the player’s game. Despite the tough conditions, Sedbergh’s top pair
Callum Austin & Molly Davies produced a fantastic performance to win their match convincingly. Sadly in the second
match, Sedbergh’s Will Jeffries & Charles Abraham (W 87-92) were unsuccessful against an in form opposition. With the match then tied at 1-1, the stage was set for Sedbergh’s Seth Waterworth (H 05-10) & Jamie Edgar (P 75-80) in the final match. Having been down early on, the Sedbergh pair fought back with some solid iron play and excellent putting in the middle of the round to take a lead into the final 6 holes. When they arrived at the famous par 3 16th tee, Sedbergh were 3 up, leaving Seth Waterworth to finish the job with a solid iron shot into the middle of the green in front of the assembled crowd, securing a well deserved point and overall win for Sedbergh 2-1.

Match vs Marlborough (last 16):
The team awoke the following morning to find the weather had deteriorated, the steady breeze from the previous
day had been replaced by 40mph winds with the prospect of torrential rain forecast to blow in from the sea later in
the morning. Conditions were therefore very challenging for everyone, making the performance of Sedbergh’s 1st
pair even more significant. Callum and Molly’s 5&4 win over Marlborough’s top pair was a fantastic achievement.
When the match finished, the pair’s 1 over par gross score was too good for the opposition. Sadly, despite strong
resistance from Sedbergh in the second and third matches, some straight driving and solid iron play from an in form
opposition saw Marlborough through to the quarter finals 2-1.

Graftonmorrish 1

A big thank you to the following OS’ who represented the school at this year’s finals tournament (from left to right):
Seth Waterworth (H 05-10), Molly Davies (R 13-18), Charles Abraham (W 87-92), Jamie Edgar (P 75-80), Will Jeffries (S 95-99), Callum Austin (E 06-10).

And Finally…
We are always on the look-out for OS golfers with single figure handicaps to join the Grafton Morrish squad. If you
would like to get involved, please contact the OS club or myself directly.
Will Jeffries (Sedgwick 95 -99)
jeffries.will@gmail.com
07971 614666